Prompts and Challenges
by The Fish with no pen
Summary: Where stories from challenges and prompt communities that I am in on livejournal will go.
1. 10orders 5

**Title:** It's not a weakness  
**Univers:** G1, post movie  
**Pairing/Characters:** First Aid and Red Alert  
**Prompt:** 5. Never Give Up for 10_orders community on livejournal  
**Rating:** K+/Pg  
**Warnings:** Unbeta'd, mentions of character death  
**Summary:** Just because he refused to willingly fight, didn't mean he was helpless.

* * *

Being a pacifist in a war was considered a suicidal ideal. To refuse to take up a weapon and fight looked down upon even as they came to him cycle after cycle to fix a limb or recalibrate a joint. Or carried in like so much weight and the conscious ones looking to him to fix them and send them out again to fight and kill, and one day actually be killed. All the while they overlooked the fact he went out with his brothers and dodged bullets and energy shots alongside them, joined in the gestalt programming when needed and allowing himself to be used in a greater whole to fight. None of that mattering when they were all so fixated on the fact he wouldn't carry a gun unless forced and didn't jump into battle, even reluctantly like Groove did.

He was starting to see why Ratchet had gained a bit of a temper when dealing with his patients and didn't hold back his words on them when they back talked him. But, First Aid wasn't that imposing and even he didn't believe half the time that he was the Chief Medical Officer and not Ratchet. It was still hard to enter and not see the white and red mech already there and setting things up the way he wanted it set up and grousing at him about having everything ready for any type of emergency.

So the flash of red and white as the medbay doors opened before him had his spark clenching for a brief moment in desperate hope. Until his cpu caught up with his optics and noticed that instead of predominantly white panels as his teacher's, were instead the light weight red panels of a mech he never thought to see willingly in the medbay.

"Red Alert?"

The security director barely paused in his actions at this. Optics flickering to him and every corner of the medbay rapidly before focusing once more on the camera being delicately placed in a high corner; typical Red Alert behavior if one paid attention and didn't get offended by the lack of response. First Aid had learned from Ratchet and his own dealings with Red Alert to just wait it out a bit until the stubborn glitch answered back, which he did while First Aid was in the middle of setting up his equipment for his shift.

"Scamper is going to be assigned some shifts near this area, so you should get used to him popping up every now and then."

"I'm not defenseless!"

It had finally clicked together with that admission from the Lamborghini. The extra cameras slowly populating this section of Autobot City, the influx of mechs just happening to wander down this hallway when the threat level was raised and he was in the medbay, and now Red Alert having Metroplex and his composites also watching him; They were looking down on him again for his unwillingness to fight.

"You refuse to give up on your beliefs, thus we should never give up on ours as autobots."

The tirade that had started to build up in his vocalizer suddenly crumbled at the calm, for Red Alert, tone and bluntness of that statement. Almost like he was reminding one of the humans that came and went through Autobot City that they were suppose to protect all life, and were not originally designed for war.

"I…thank you."

It didn't even bother him when Red Alert promptly ignored him again, finished up his camera adjusting and left as if he was in enemy territory. Typical Red Alert, something that First Aid had started to forget despite knowing the Lamborghini better then any other mech still functioning.

Though, he was starting to regret just knowing Red Alert on just a clinical level as a medic. He may have to start looking as a friend, or as close as a friend as one can get with a security director with a paranoia streak the size of Cybertron some days. It might be the only way to figure out what Red Alert really means at times. For now, he had a medbay to run and the tension he felt in struts didn't seem as bad anymore.

After all, he was pretty much ordered to not back down from his ideals.


	2. 7rainbowprompts 1

**Title:** Out of the Crowd

**Fandom:** Transformers (07/09 movies)

**Claim:** Samuel J. Witwicky

**Challenge:** 7rainbowprompts on livejournal

**Prompt Set:** Indigo

**Prompt:** #1 Look over your shoulder

**Rating:** K+

**Warnings/Spoilers:** Spoilers may and will happen at random, please enter at your own discretion.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned I'd have casted some of the humans differently and had more Transformers running around, oh and be rich too. So I certainly don't own.

* * *

Sam had never been one to be picked first for a lot of things. Teetering as he did as an awkward teenager that didn't seem to fit into any of the groups that wandered the halls of high school. He wasn't out of shape, but lacked the drive to be on a sports team and compete. Schoolwork was a chore enough that he really didn't fit in with the academics who strived for that 4.0 GPA. The only friend he ever had since kindergarten was Miles who was in love with alien conspiracies, and Sam had never really gone out to make more friends, which landed him away from the social climbers.

Sure he wanted a place to fit in, everyone wants that. It's just human nature to flock to a group to feel safe. Especially for those like Sam who attracted the attention of others in a way that wasn't good. Being bullied though was one of the few times he wasn't just a random person in the crowd moving with the rest. One of the few times he was something special, even if that special was just a hollow feeling for being picked out from the rest to be tormented. It was why he obsessed over the story of how his parents got together. First car, offering the girl a ride, and falling in love like that. Even if his parents were weird with their lawn obsessions that story had specialness to it because two people manage to meet each other in a way they would have never done so before. All thanks to a car.

The car was the key to it all, and even now as he ran. Arms painfully clutching that blue cube that everyone wanted and most of his brain skittered and screamed incoherently about how he was going to die soon a part kept repeating that it all started with the car. Even if the car wasn't really a car it had been the key for him in breaking out of the stream of life he had been drifting in.

He never let himself look back as he ran from Megatron. So he never let himself look back to before 'bee came into his life along with Mikaela, Optimus Prime, and the other Autobots. Because he never wanted to go back to that state again and even as he babbled about how he was going to be happy with being a normal teenager after this…

Deep down he never wants to be normal again.


	3. 10orders 3

**Title:** It's really quite logical  
**Pairing/Characters:** Red Alert and First Aid; Inferno  
**Prompt:** 3. Shut Up for 10_orders community on livejournal  
**Rating:**K+/Pg-13  
**Warnings:** Unbeta'd, use of first person shenanigans  
**Summary:** Red Alert explains to Inferno what sort of relationship is _not_ going on between him and First Aid.

* * *

It was completely ridiculous, and just uncalled for to toss such allegations at me. To blatantly accuse me of any data functions in my head that would make me become lax in my duties as the Security Director, and yes there was such a risk of such thank you very much. I only fight my glitch down during routine diagnostic runs and virus scans is because if I don't it makes the procedure take that much longer to get through when the glitch keeps trying to firewall the scans and antivirus program updates being sent. Which means more time I'm not in the office and making certain the Decepticons don't surprise us with an attack; so of course I do what I can to make that process go easier for all of us.

Allowing First Aid to fix my injuries and not Ratchet was a logical conclusion once he had reached a certain level of skill, as there is always the chance that it would be the only choice during a battle or mission. It also helped lighten the work load that was placed on our CMO as well if I went to First Aid instead, especially after a battle or during certain times of the human year when I was scheduled to be defragmented and Ratchet had inventory and reports piling up. A matter of efficiency was all it was when it came to my 'trust' of the junior medic. After all with the way things were going and the talk of building a city here on earth, while attempts to retake Cybertron were being planned; it was just common sense that Ratchet would have to make First Aid work a medbay on his own. One of Ratchet's skills would always go where he is needed most, and with permanent bases being made First Aid couldn't follow in the CMO's shadow forever on this.

So Inferno you can mute your vocalizer and stop making that told you so face anytime I online in medbay and First Aid decides to hover over me like I'm about to offline permanently.

It is not what are implying at all, you gung ho fire truck. I do not do this out of some misguided want or anything, just common sense of what will happen in the future. Because you and I both know I'll be sent to the out of the way bases most to keep the security up to par until Cybertron is taken back. There is no ulterior motive for our interactions with each other both in and outside the medbay. First Aid is a friendly mech, and despite my glitch and programming hang ups I attempt to be polite and reply back to everyone that says hi to me. No matter how few those mechs were or why First Aid always makes certain to seek me out like that.

…Just medical prerogative is what that is. He knows next to Prowl, I end up in the medbay the most for non battle type injuries, especially when the twins are bored. First Aid would drop everything to fix a toaster if it malfunctioned near him, so this whole more then a platonic feeling is absurd. I just have a tendency to 'break' outside of battles more then normal mechs and that just makes the protectobot wary about my condition. He does the same thing to Prowl, but you don't try and make more out of those actions like you do when he is dealing with me in the same manner.

Yes, it is nothing more then a professional interest and friendly programming. Nothing more and nothing less _Inferno_... So you can stop laughing now Inferno and help me remove First Aid from my chassis, before his brothers show up and dismantle me, because it is clearly my fault in their optics the little idiot tackled me when a piece of roof fell and won't let go of me even in stasis.


	4. 10random Awe

**Title:** Creation Day  
**Author:** no_pen_writer  
**Claim:** Protectobots(Transformers G1)  
******10_random** prompt: Awe  
**Rating:** K+ to be safe  
**Disclaimer:** If I was Hasbro I wouldn't need fanfiction for my what if meanderings.  
**Spoilers/Warnings:** First time writing for this group, unbeta'd  
**Author Notes:** I blame this all on **playswithworms** for making me fall in love with this group of robots.

* * *

When they had first been activated it had taken a large amount of time of systems humming and booting up, before their optics had brightened for the first time and had looked around at those gathered, some with plain relief as they had not been present for the Aerialbots awakening, and others with a welcoming look and already explaining things to them as they helped them get used to moving for the first time. Some wondering about the lengthy process for them to online when they clearly were ready to do so long before they had. Air Raid and Streetwise would just grin goofily when asked, Blades muttering at a level none could hear at before heading off, First Aid kindly smiling somehow despite the battle mask and visor obscuring his faceplates, and Hot Spot would just say it was a gestalt thing.

None could really explain those first few moments before they became aware of anything that was the actual world.

They had been nothing then, suddenly, they _were_, yet still incomplete. All separate but more and unsure of what more was, until the one who felt like restrained energy and gleeful impulse had started moving, tracking and finding the quiet one that flitted towards and away from them; yet always open and kind. Bumbling into that quiet one and both balancing one another before pushing off, as one of exhilaration and a feeling of heat and quickness pounced on another; whose complete calm soothed the need to do something and cooled the heat, as both balanced for a moment and bounced away again. The ones full of energy moving to the other calm one to know and feel, and be reeled in when they started being too excitable. Then there was another, as excitable as the two who had taken the first move amongst them and radiating the want to help. He did not have to go to them, because they were already next to him and it was there but almost not as they felt and knew one another. Fighting the pull to separate and go somewhere else, until the one that ended up in the middle of the pile pulled himself together and set them all to go even as they knew he wanted to stay here in this place like this as well.

So they went and woke up for the first time and just stared a bit in awe as they found one another in new and awkward, but familiar and soothing bodies. Giggling as they tumbled to the floor in a pile after the odd ones that they couldn't feel like they could each other finally started to leave. Leaving only two who helped them get used to the new information they now had about everything and could put names to what they saw and felt as Ratchet and Wheeljack checked them over. Streetwise fidgeting and flexing only calming down to idle exploration as he pulled First Aid deeper into the pile when the quiet feeling had started to flit away for a moment. Even as Groove seeming to not notice his actions curled further into Blades back, serene expression never wavering even as a mock scuffle happened between Streetwise and Blades. Hot Spot barely keeping from loosing any of the other four griping on to him as he kept asking questions of Ratchet and Wheeljack and attempted to help while still corralling his brothers close to him.

It had taken weeks for the fascination to wear off enough, before they were shown something new and it started again, but nothing really could outshine that one moment when they had met each other. It was just a gestalt thing really.


	5. 10random Bug

**Title:** Childhood Illnesses

**Author:** no_pen_writer

**Claim:** Protectobots****

**10_random prompt:** Bug

**Rating:** K

**Disclaimer:**If I was Hasbro I wouldn't need fanfiction for my what if meanderings.

**Spoilers/Warnings:** Unbeta'd, creative license with medical knowledge of giant robots.  
**  
**

* * *

Later on, when they looked back at the memory file they all would giggle in embarrassed amusement at what they had done. But it had been terrifying then and they didn't believe in that fear when Ratchet and Wheeljack had told them it was nothing to worry that much over it, and that Hot Spot could stop recharging on the floor between the two berths because he was in the way and the two on the berths would be fine in time. Because they couldn't stop worrying when those two had been so deep in recharge they weren't even a hum in the back of a processor, and none of them had looked over that data packet about common viruses and mainframe hiccups all bots usually went through at some point. Even when Silverbolt had wandered by a few times and told them the same thing they couldn't stop, and at least Silverbolt understood and didn't try and pull them out of the little area of the medbay during that time.

It had started with Streetwise feeling a bit rundown, even after a full recharge cycle and energon tanks full. The feeling had been caught by First Aid, and in typical fashion had curled over him until Streetwise had laughingly settled down and let Aid look him over before being dragged to Ratchet. This already had worried the rest as they began to trickle in to hover just out of reach to be an annoyance and see what was going on. Only for all of them to be shooed out after being told Streetwise just needed some rest and would be in medbay for a few days. Then First Aid had started acting the same way as Streetwise had, but had managed to hide it better until Blades noticed the visor flicker into a dimmer setting then normal during an exercise from Ironhide, and had physically carried the protesting medbot into the care of Ratchet as well.

Both barely coherent and seeming to be far away when they tried to talk to them through the link. It had made Blades hover until it was mentioned he was doing so, then he had left and only slunk back when others were not around. Or when Groove just smiled knowingly as they curled in the corner where they could watch the recharging figures better when neither felt like returning to, the now too big seeming, quarters when Hot Spot was either flitting between Streetwise and First Aid or babbling his fear and guilt over it at Silverbolt.

The aggravated explanation from Ratchet on it being a system error that just needed to run its course and they would be ifine/i, and First Aid probably caught it when looking over Streetwise ignored in favor of staring at the two motionless figures, and that was just another bit of wrong because Streetwise even fidgeted in recharge normally. The words not registering about it happening to many bots with no real consequences afterwards, and that they were so tired because their systems were still new and had to take longer to sort out the virus from the rest of the data strings. None of it because they were not responding and they were there, but not really ithere/i with them, and they couldn't see how it would get better until they could feel them again.

So the relief when both had groggily rebooted and the static of vocalizers having been off for so long, had them nearly tackling the two off the berth physically, until Ratchet had given them the Look, and instead happily crowded around and just buried the two in the link in relief. Which turned into smothering as Hot Spot was pulled away long enough by Wheeljack to be told the two still needed to take it easy until the rundown feeling was gone, or they might cause another hiccup in their processors and send them back to medbay for a bit again.

The group too busy with paying attention to being whole and mentally climbing over the other with feelings of relief and admonishments to never do that again to their sparks, to notice the complicated look between the engineer and medic. A look that was usually simplified to a fond exasperation tone of the word Gestalts.


	6. 1sentence SoundwavexRed Alert

**Pairing:** Soundwave/Red Alert  
**Theme set:** Epsilon  
**Title:** And it all falls down  
**Rating:** T  
**Warning[s]:** abuse of commas and semicolons, stated and hinted at relations between two genderless robots who have the defaulted he pronoun, hinted at activities of a sexual nature, hinted at torture, stated owner and slave type situations, no fluffy at all.  
**Notes:** I have no clue what universe this is, and just for some idea I'll just put 07/09 movie with some sentences lending to a G1 cartoon AU of some sort.

* * *

**#01 - Motion**

Autobots, especially the cocky frontliners, tended to swagger just like Decepticons; so it was odd to witness one skitter from one shadow to the next, even as the flash of a rifle marked another Decepticon down for the count.

**#02 - Cool**

The first time he had heard the Communication mech speak he had shivered at the cold monotone and felt the musical reverberations made it that much more of a sign of danger, like being lured to your death and not realizing such due to the pretty light in front of you.

**#03 - Young**

Neither really remembered meeting as younglings barely given their full protoforms, when the war had broken out and they had huddled together under debris before being separated and ending up on opposite sides.

**#04 - Last**

The hum of a connection finally taking had caused blue optics to widen in sudden realization and then nothing as his motor functions gave out once the virus managed to get through his already crumbling firewalls.

**#05 - Wrong**

He had what he came for-as the one who fought him curled into a little ball of misery as the virus ate away at the little autobot's cpus-and he could take his time in dealing with the autobot that fought him every inch of the way, but Soundwave didn't want to destroy the little mech lying before him, he rarely met such who could match him that well in battles over security systems.

**#06 - Gentle**

It was almost believable when he was picked up as if he was going to break, but the agony in his mind as he still fought what Soundwave wanted of him made it a farce he was certain everyone saw through.

**#07 - One**

That was all it had taken, and still he had to recheck the calculations before he even thought of allowing the mech out of stasis lock.

**#08 - Thousand**

They had done this so many times that Red Alert wondered if he could set up a defensive parameter in recharge against the technopath.

**#09 - King**

The Decepticons followed Megatron with an almost fanatical want-depending on their insanity merging with their loyalty levels- and Red Alert could only wonder what would happen if Soundwave were to ever stop playing as the loyal lap dog.

**#10 - Learn**

"Desired outcome: only me you shall follow, it will be done and to your very core."

**#11 - Blur**

Part of him seemed to giggle as his optics began to malfunction even as a voice, which sounded oddly like the Decepticon Soundwave, was telling him that wasn't true and moved through his thoughts.

**#12 - Wait**

Most never saw the almost obscene amount of time both sides waited and watched for an opening to attempt knocking the other down.

**#13 - Change**

It was a pity how clueless the autobots were about their own security director, that none saw the changes slowly happening each time he came across him in battle or patrol.

**#14 - Command**

He wasn't even allowed to scream as he watched his own body betray him and do as Soundwave wanted.

**#15 - Hold**

He wandered the base undisturbed, most knowing he was kept in line with means they couldn't see, and Soundwave kept such charades up when he would periodically fight that seething mind behind close doors to keep the obedience strong.

**#16 - Need**

When Ratchet had to physically restrain him to a medical berth to keep him there, he knew somewhere nearby that mech was already assured of his victory.

**#17 - Vision**

It had been at least an orn since he had disabled his optics and Soundwave was growing impatient with the little mech's defiance and attempt to keep Soundwave from his mind through his optics.

**#18 - Attention**

He had stood in the back as Megatron had given one of his speeches about the corruption of the council, as if it was some new concept that anyone not sheltered or with the council had no clue about; so he had watched the ones who were the suppose inner circle of the one speaking.

**#19 - Soul**

The steady hum of the spark in the curled figure was a pleasant reminder of what he was capable of when he wanted something, even as the blank blue optics powered up and watched him avidly.

**#20 - Picture**

The holopads had been one of the first things destroyed, by his own hands as Soundwave wanted, and he almost didn't manage it when the one of him and Inferno before he even knew who Soundwave was flashed on.

**#21 - Fool**

Despite what he had done to the little autobot, he was still treated with the same deference by the rest of the faction and that made Soundwave ponder at times if they were all just war happy fools.

**#22 - Mad**

The rare times he could throw off the influence, he had launched himself at his captor hissing and growling, reminding all that witnessed he was the same model type as the twins that tended to cause grief to the seekers and they were all a bit glitched in the programming.

**#23 - Child**

It was like a youngling, the way the little autobot clung to Soundwave, and it was interesting to hear the various thoughts and reactions of both factions over this and how the relationship was not that innocent.

**#24 - Now**

Sometimes when he should be recharging he wondered what would be different in that moment if he had been a little bit stronger on his first assignment.

**#25 - Shadow**

They called the autobot a mere mockery of what he once was, that he used to taunt the rest of that emotional faction, however true that was he was still figuring out.

**#26 - Goodbye**

When he had left the hub that day for his first assignment he wished he'd said goodbye a little longer; all things considered now.

**#27 - Hide**

The red and white had hid himself well under memories and random data, instead of being foolhardy and attacking him head on during that encounter; it kept him alive, but if the autobot felt that was a curse or not didn't really matter.

**#28 - Fortune**

Inferno had tried to get him not to go, he recalled one day while Soundwave was in a meeting, and he had brushed it aside because orders were orders.

**#29 - Safe**

It had been over two vorns and Soundwave was still attempting to get past that last little bit of firewall where, now obsolete, information of the autobot army was; just because once it was open and under his control the mech would stop fighting him as much.

**#30 - Ghost**

Soundwave could move almost as stealthily as Ravage, despite his size, and so Red Alert could never truly relax knowing Soundwave would appear without warning.

**#31 - Book**

The datapads had been an odd whim, but after being told to act like a sparkless drone for so long; the small allowance to show he was still aware behind his controls was like a twisted reward to a pet, that Soundwave decided to see where it would go in cementing the obedience.

**#32 - Eye**

Technopaths were always talked about as being able to break into a cpu with optic to optic contact, and was why Soundwave wore the optical band; yet he knew the optical band was a false sense of comfort as he didn't need to take it off to do as he pleased.

**#33 - Never**

His control slipped and the red and white quickly took the chance, the reports of the autobot moving swiftly through the base and out while he had been away on a mission for Megatron, had made him quirk his lips slightly behind his battlemask; the mech would be back within the orn.

**#34 - Sing**

The hum kept getting louder and louder that it started to drown out the sound of Ratchet yelling for Wheeljack and the ringing of medical equipment, and he just wanted it to stop.

**#35 – Sudden**

The fascination for the Autobot known as Blaster had shifted-leaving only the ire of continuously being thwarted- to the little of no importance security bot with no warning that he was already two plans into capturing him before Soundwave knew what was going on.

**#36 - Stop**

Maybe, if there had been no war or factions he would have stopped fighting long ago.

**#37 - Time**

The war could be seen everywhere and how it had escalated as the once bright lights began to fade and talks of sending troops off planet for energy resources happened, yet it seemed to not touch the still fighting pair as neither could get out of the stalemate they were in.

**#38 - Wash**

The blast had sent ash and melted metal everywhere making it hard to see and tell who was who until the odd organic weather system let the rain fall, and the illusion of being somewhere else was loss when the purple symbol began showing up past the grit on those around him.

**#39 – Torn**

Stubborn will was the only thing keeping that autobot going, even as Soundwave saw how much the rest of him wanted to just give up and let him finish the modifications on him.

**#40 - History**

Some of the older autobots tended to make comments about before the war, while many just listened out of respect before going back to their training, here the Decepticons don't talk about a time before there was war.

**#41 - Power**

Some of the front line grunts had wondered why he didn't perform the same feat on a key officer of the autobots, and Soundwave didn't feel the need to explain how much the other needed to be able to fight to still have a functioning cpu after the program was uploaded.

**#42 - Bother**

He had started taking a page from the book of the cassetteicons when it came to his attitude towards most of the Decepticon faction, just because it was the closes thing to rebellion he could get at times.

**#43 - God**

The security bot had never asked for Primus, and instead just kept silent in vocalizer and cpu when others would have been asking why of their suppose grand creator.

**#44 - Wall**

He had felt it deep in his spark, when the almost audible snap and groan of every defensive programming he had set up around his memories finally fell.

**#45 - Naked**

Without the protective armor covering that bit of protoform upon the red and white mech, Soundwave found it easier to find the wires to pull and twist into snapping as he rerouted the data flow physically when programs had failed to do so.

**#46 - Drive**

He couldn't see how the war kept moving no matter how many times each side nearly destroyed the other, and could only wonder why Soundwave went along with the reckless abandon of those around him when Red Alert knew he was far more calculating then this.

**#47 - Harm**

Soundwave would idly wonder, when recharge was elusive and Megatron was too busy to bother him, about the time when the little autobot would be beyond repair of even his control.

**#48 - Precious**

He had been called a precious thing and that monotone voice held such mocking somehow that Red Alert wanted to scream, but could only snarl in his own mind as he felt the possessive hold on his helm tighten a bit.

**#49 - Hunger**

Soundwave had not even bothered to be present when Hook had to make a direct line to his energon processors, knowing it was just one last desperate act of defiance that would either have him lose his toy or show the autobot it was useless.

**#50 - Believe**

There had been an oath he had followed once, dimly he recalled, but it was just a small annoying thought that came up from time to time when he was not helping Soundwave destroy whatever defense system the ones with the red symbol had made.


	7. 1sentence SmokescreenxRed Alert

**Pairing:** Smokescreen/Red Alert  
**Theme set:** Delta  
**Title:** It started with a bomb and a therapy session  
**Rating:** K+, may have some T bits floating around.  
**Warning[s]:** The normal warning of abuse of the comma and semicolon, universe bouncing (Some are G1ish, some 07/09 movieish, and many who knows what universe they could happen in.), my general lameness?  
**Notes:** This pairing brought to you by a discussion at the **tf_bunny_farm**

* * *

**#01 – Air**

The first time they had met was not one of romantic note, as thick electromagnetic smoke filled the room and the diversionary tactician had dragged him and his team out of the jail cells.

**#02 – Apples**

Neither were like Hound and Trailbreaker when it came to earth's natural wonders; so Smokescreen could only snicker and then hide when Red Alert was asked to help some humans during some apple picking festival alongside Inferno.

**#03 – Beginning**

It had been a shock when the stubborn and clip tones during appointments had moved to snark filled conversations, and then just began to be a comfort; and Red Alert then panicked at the implication.

**#04 – Bugs**

Smokescreen had joined when Red Alert's glitch had calmed down to be a minor annoyance, but that didn't stop him from doing all he could to keep it as such a minor bug in the processors and not life threatening again.

**#05 – Coffee**

"You just need to look at today's security feed of Blurr on high grade to iknow/i how my day has been for your little files Smokescreen."

**#06 – Dark**

When the groups had left Cybertron on various missions, it seemed that everything was closing in on them all that much more, as Smokescreen watched the security bot try and keep their bolt hole from being found.

**#07 – Despair**

Soundwave had found them and they had scattered unthinkingly into the ruins, he felt down in his spark one of them wasn't going to make it to the rendezvous point in one piece.

**#08 – Doors**

It had taken a great deal of logical thinking and mental berates for Red Alert to go through the door and begin another awkward session of figure out what makes Red tick.

**#09 – Drink**

Smokescreen liked to indulge in high grade whenever he could, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why he could only glare at the cube after Inferno had walked out with the little red and white Lamborghini.

**#10 – Duty**

They both had layers of orders and objectives for the Autobot cause; most being ones that would gain betrayed looks from their fellows, but they understood it was necessary for this war to end at some point.

**#11 – Earth**

The first time they had seen that mostly blue planet they hadn't thought much about it, now though, Smokescreen wondered when it had been anything less then important to them.

**#12 – End**

When the gate fell at Autobot City, Smokescreen already knew what that meant, even as he ducked behind another rubble pile as Seekers strafed the area again.

**#13 – Fall**

After the entire Negavator incident, Red Alert always felt as if his world was situated at an awkward ninety degree angle and he only kept from tumbling over because it would prove Smokescreen right on his needing rest.

**#14 – Fire**

Despite Wheeljack's ability to make air explode on a whim, there were very few times when Red Alert had to be back up on fire detail; until they came to earth and Smokescreen had to bite back the need to drag Red Alert away when the alarm went out and Inferno came running down the hall.

**#15 – Flexible**

Smokescreen had never been grateful for the movement of his doorwings then right now as he used one to silence the ranting Lamborghini with a well placed twitch; and not a soul in the rec room the wiser of it.

**#16 – Flying**

There was only the grumble of an engine shifting gears and the flashes of red, yellow, and red and white passing by like a blur before Smokescreen watched as Red Alert seemed to fly over the hills and dips of the road while muttering on their comm. channel about how he was going to dismantle the twins and Ratchet wouldn't be able to salvage them.

**#17 – Food**

Humans had a lot of odd sayings, though the one about food for thought was starting to become adapt in describing his situation, as he stared at the video monitors in a daze at the implication his glitch was not making him want to run away from the fast talking Datsun that admitted to being manipulative.

**#18 – Foot**

Their time amongst the original Ark members had worn them down enough, that he barely paused in his argument with Red Alert about taking breaks between triple shifts when they passed by medbay and saw Sideswipe welded to the ceiling by his pedes.

**#19 – Grave**

Most of the Ark were confused when Red Alert, breaking several of the rules he normally cites them with, fled into the wilds around the Ark with Smokescreen calmly following after with a dark glint to optics and one of Ratchet's tranquilizers in hand.

**#20 – Green**

He was starting to wish he could kill humans, and that the human who created this holiday was still alive to be killed; just because he was not amused by the sudden clang of a magnetic shamrock hitting his bumper and an overly charged Smokescreen grinning at him like that.

**#21 – Head**

It had been part of the reason he was brought on by Optimus, to look into the depths of cpus and report such to the leader in hopes of finding a way to make them all better and able to win this war; the game of seeing how much he could make Red Alert twitch before being socked-Lamborghinis hit ihard/i- in the face and sent to medbay was purely for entertainment since he refused to admit he liked the damn lambo.

**#22 – Hollow**

"Just because I can hear a pin drop 1.4 miles away doesn't mean I can suddenly divine where every sinkhole is without first driving over it, and that's what got us in this mess in the first place."

**#23 – Honor**

Smokescreen wasn't the first to be considered honorable with his gambling and cheating, and his lack of boundaries in his quests; that's why he was the perfect one to keep everyone else honorable when they started to slide and he showed them up.

**#24 – Hope**

Neither of them were naïve or optimistic, but they both could agree that it was hard to not have hope after the first few human months on that little organic plant.

**#25 – Light**

Red Alert never realized how much he missed the optic hurting brightness of a medbay until there was no medbay and he attempted to keep the damn fragger next to him alive while someone went to see if First Aid had survived the attack.

**#26 – Lost**

The coordinates had been as accurate as he could get, with the transmission garbled as it was due to how many solar systems it had traveled and the general mad dash his convoy had done from decepticons; so he did not appreciate the little smug note when Red asked him if they were lost again, since he was only off by three units this time Primus damn it all.

**#27 – Metal**

It had never occurred to him just how different they were even on a structural level until Smokescreen had gripped his left shoulder plating hard enough to leave dents; and place this frantic and bewildered look on faceplate at the little wounds he had caused on accident during his panic to get him out of that cellblock.

**#28 – New**

He wasn't known for serious relationships, finding that once his processor had picked a mech or femme apart on a psychological scale he became bored and looked for a new thing; Powerglide was still waiting for him to get bored after how many vorns of watching Red Alert, and amazed he still wasn't tired of poking that security bot to see his reactions.

**#29 – Old**

When the Allspark had been launched and the teams made to search for it, he had become an old hat-as those odd organics the first contact group had a fondness for would say- at doing both his and Prowl's job and Optimus' for his group of six, but gladly gave it all up and attempt to curl around the little red and white Lamborghini that had came out with the welcoming group and frag anyone that mentioned his ruined reputation due to that act, he was tired of being a leader.

**#30 – Peace**

He had blinked in puzzlement for a good five or so kliks before tilting his head at Smokescreen in bemusement as the door winged mech just vented a gust of air and made some note; it was a really odd question to make Smokescreen ask when most of them didn't think they'd survive to see the war over and done with.

**#31 - Poison**

He didn't know why it hurt so much, like he had ingested a tainted cube of energon and couldn't seem to purge it, when he had turned away from the security room with a flippant goodbye and headed towards his group.

**#32 - Pretty**

Red Alert could only scowl at the Datsun that started laughing when he complained about the random mech that kept staring at him, and only threw a datapad at the cryptic answer of Lamborghini amidst the laughter.

**#33 - Rain**

The first time they had seen a road had been washed out during a flood Smokescreen had stared at it in some sort of awe, as he ignored the exclamations of Trailbreaker, and only stopped watching the road disappear under mud and water when the sudden jolt of a Lamborghini hitting his side due to another deluge made him finally move before they all got swept down in alt mode.

**#34 - Regret**

Sometimes he wonders if Smokescreen ever resented what Prime had asked of him, enough that, even though both never acted like a typical pair that, it wasn't worth everything that led up to it.

**#35 - Roses**

The sheer horror displayed by several of the 'nature lovers' upon finding out about a human custom of giving dead plants to one another had been funny and something inane to discuss when Red Alert dodged his normal questions during their session.

**#36 - Secret**

Red Alert tended to come off as secretive and hard to trust, yet Smokescreen had learned to notice he wasn't as closed mouthed as the claims would have you believe, you just needed the right amount of dry humor and some knowledge of how to read between the lines.

**#37 - Snakes**

The sheer amount of wire running through the hallways would have caused him to normally wish he could cry in frustration like humans, but considering he managed to rope Smokescreen into helping him rewire the Ark in exchange for cooperation during their next session; Red Alert didn't feel that overwhelmed by the task.

**#38 - Snow**

Whatever Primus forsaken being that had created this concept of frozen water and salt to fix it could go to the pit, especially if they manage to get back to the Ark and someone took the paint scuffs for something other then them careening into each other due to lack of traction.

**#39 - Solid**

"Walls, remain unmovable even when someone is over charged to the point they believe they have a sigma ability, and I'm starting to see why you have so much blackmail on mechs Red Alert."

**#40 - Spring**

If anyone had told him that he'd see a Datsun fly for all of a minute he'd have sent them to Smokescreen, if said Datsun hadn't tripped the really processor freezing absurd trap Air Raid had set up with the giant spring Wheeljack had been looking for.

**#41 - Stable**

Sparklings were to be raised in a quiet and loving home to grow up healthy they said, but he had done fine on the streets of Kaon, and his already jaded view of the world helped him survive this long in the war.

**#42 - Strange**

The entire tactical department would never make sense to him, and yet they were the ones he understood the most in this crazy base.

**#43 - Summer**

Smokescreen had joined with everyone else in the sigh of relief when Red Alert and Inferno had come back with the good news that summer vacation was starting, so no more visits to schools for at least three months for them all.

**#44 - Taboo**

There was probably something about seeing the resident psychiatrist in a less then professional manner, but considering who started this, Red Alert figured Smokescreen just didn't care about that in his normal way.

**#45 - Ugly**

The weld hadn't been smoothed out yet and thus was jagged and rough, with bits of metal nicking anything that ran across it, and Smokescreen only really hated it because it mocked how close things had gotten after they had met again before heading to wherever Prime and his team was.

**#46 - War**

Nine million years and still going on, both didn't really see in counting anymore as it was just a matter of life now.

**#47 - Water**

"I should just assume the normal group is to blame and not ask how they managed to make half of the security room an aquarium while you were in medbay?"

**#48 - Welcome**

It had been a joke at first but it did seem to add a bit of mocking foreboding to mechs like those in Special Operations to see that Doctor is IN sign on his door, and he'd have to thank Red Alert for the idea.

**#49 - Winter**

Both had shut themselves in to their respective offices at the first sign of frost that didn't melt with the rising sun, and only those who had also been on the Ark in the past knew why.

**#50 – Wood**

When they ended up as part of the group to revisit earth after all the vorns away, they knew deep down it would look different, and staring at the tree nearly as tall as Red Alert, and coming from where the rec room used to be; it just made them realize how quickly this planet changed and grew up.


	8. 10orders 14

**Title:** Emotional Hostages  
**Pairing/Characters:** Red Alert and First Aid; Smokescreen, mentions of other Protectobots and other autobots  
**Prompt:** 14. Hate Me  
**Rating:** K/Pg  
**Warnings:** Unbeta'd, slight hints and mentions of deaths and events from TF:The Movie  
**Summary:** Smokescreen takes pity on a CMO that hasn't learned why Red Alert avoids everyone.

* * *

Red Alert was not social in any capacity or language you spoke of the word. His protocol clinging and various security hurdles had made it even more so as even the most patient of mechs would become frustrated at the new pass code or procedure they had to go through to get around. Thus during times when he wasn't going around complaining about lack of security and miscreants destroying his cameras, he fell into the back of processors and forgotten by the group completely. Until their active CMO began to find time to be around or even talk to the Lamborghini.

The act at first attributed to Firs Aid's kind nature and how with easier access to Cybertron Inferno was not as constant as he once was around the security director. Those who were more observant noticed however it was not so much that, as they watched Red Alert attempt to dodge being in the room with the CMO for any length of time outside of a professional reason. Even as First Aid doggedly kept attempting to pop up when the Lamborghini was not expecting such during off hours. Creating an odd sort of cat and mouse game that only those who either observed people professionally or did so for their own reason could see it happening. Most of those in Autobot City never noticing it.

Of course those who did notice, didn't see any reason to intervene, and since First Aid's brothers were not out for Red Alert's spark there was that incentive to just watch things unfold.

First Aid knew about this, and how his brothers would send the mottled mixture of confusion, exasperation, and worry when he started to follow the retreating Lamborghini, but couldn't find himself to care. Because he was noticing so many contradictions that made his need to help well up for some reason. The stand-offish attitude was normally destroyed if one noticed just how much Red Alert did to keep them all safe, and the subtle way shifts were rearranged under the excuse of Red Alert being a workaholic; even when if you looked at the schedules and recalled talks and such going on the changes usually happened when someone had been looking forward to something or would have been on shift with a mech they were currently fighting with. Or the way the Security Director was supposedly known for being overly strict and a pain in the aft, yet never was outside of what he had to do when disciplinary action was needed.

"You should probably just stop, you're not really going to win this. Not overtly at least."

The amused inflected voice of Smokescreen had First Aid looking up from his frustrated scrubbing of his tools. The doorwinged mech casually leaning against the door separating medbay from the hall and seeming completely at ease, if not for the serious expression upon faceplates.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The whole crusade to make a certain twitchy security bot to acknowledge that we are a social species like the humans you have going on. He's been set in his ways to avoid 'Emotional Hostages' since the war started."

"Emotional Hostages?"

"It's what he calls letting others close to him, something about how it can be used against us all and just a bad idea in the long run with the casualty count rising. Oh, and the whole Inferno thing, it was mostly due to official duties. They were not as closely joined at the hip joint as everyone thinks, it just seemed like it because Inferno was the only mech Red Alert was usually around during off hours."

"That doesn't mean he needs to shut himself off from everyone."

"I've been saying that for vorns, but he's got more reason backing his idea in his mind now after Autobot City was attacked."

Smokescreen gave an understanding look at the sudden flinch at the mention of that, most of those still alive from the time of the Ark were still raw emotionally over that. No one even daring to mention it at all in hearing of any of the Dinobots. However, Smokescreen had finally gotten tired of watching the young CMO throw himself at this brick wall.

"He decided long ago that he rather everyone hate him, then to be hurt by him in this war. So, you should probably just save your energy and stop trying."

First Aid just stared at the now closed door after Smokescreen had left. He couldn't wrap his cpu around willingly wanting others to hate you.


	9. 10random Alien Technology

**Title:** Whirly Gig  
**Claim:** Protectobots  
******10_random** prompt: Alien Technology  
**Rating:** K  
**Disclaimer:** If I was Hasbro I wouldn't need fanfiction for my what if meanderings.  
**Spoilers/Warnings:** Unbeta'd  
**Author Notes:** I need a Protectobot icon one of these days, Groove is artistic...in my headspace.

* * *

The odd contraption had been brought about by Groove.

At first it had been nothing more then lengths of wire, bits of glass, and other reflective surfaces. Scraps from here and there like that piece crystal from Indonesia that was the size of the geologist's head but had fit like a favorite child's stone in Groove's hand; or that piece of armor that had once been a piece of Hot Spots shoulder armor before it had been scrapped off the first time Hot Spot attempted to scramble up the side of the Volcano the Ark was next to when Inferno and Red Alert were teaching him about mountain terrain rescues. Things that all of them for some reason or another had picked up and kept in a small storage box Wheeljack had made for them. From old tools that First Aid had used during his first lessons under Ratchet before he was gifted with brand new tools when he was deemed ready to work without Ratchet hovering over him, to little battle trophies of pieces from weapons of 'cons that Blades had claimed during some of his more harrowing scraps in battle, and to little badges and decals of the various police stations Streetwise had helped at one time or another.

Perceptor had called it a sentimental attachment brought about by their young cpu's adapting and copying traits of the humans who outnumbered the mechs on this world, and were the ones the group spent most time with outside of battle and their usual scuffles and random tackling of their 'older winged siblings'. Something that had confused the others on the Ark, especially when Groove began connected the random pieces together with the heavy wire and refused to tell why he was doing it. (And Hot Spot had managed to quell the others in the bond from being overly curious and pestering the cycleformer about it until he was ready to show his surprise to them.)

Which was why when Groove had shoo'd them all out of their shared living space they had stuck nearby in curiosity and anticipation, even though Blades tried to hide it by roaming the hallways and sticking close 'because he didn't want to have the rest of them stampeding him to get him back to the room when Groove would let them back in.' A lie they had laughed at with Blades when he was just as eager to get in the door as the rest when Groove pantomimed the human gesture of flinging a set of doors open as the automatic door slid open in front of him.

They all stopped barely inside the common area of their living space as they gazed up at the dangling object that ran across the ceiling. Puzzled until Hot Spot had turned his helm to send a questioning look at Groove, his helm brushing one of the strings that sent a shiver through the rest of the wires. The motion causing some of the objects to spin and reflect the light in the room off the walls and other hanging objects in patterns and rainbow sheens, while other sections jangled and clicked together in such a way to make them all freeze and listen. Before Streetwise gave a cheeky grin and reaching up enough to tap two pieces of metal that had once been a rotor blade that had broken during a battle and salvaged out of Blades' own shoulder strut. Causing the network of objects to once more move and sing.

It would be a full week before the contraption gained a second purpose to warn them when Hot Spot or First Aid were attempting to avoid recharge and take on extra shifts when they were supposed to be resting.


	10. 1sentence SpringerxProwlxRed Alert

**Fandom:** Transformers  
**Pairing:** Springer/Prowl/Red Alert  
**Theme set:** Alpha  
**Title:** A contrast and a blending of three  
**Rating:** K+, may have some T sentences floating around  
**Warning[s]:** Abuse of commas and semicolons, universe hopping (Some may fit G1 or IDW while others may fit Bayverse better.), my crack fail  
**Notes:** An unofficial **1sentence** prompt for my weird OT3 of the Transformers fandom.

* * *

**#01 – Comfort**

Prowl would plan and strategize, Springer would rush headlong into any and all impossible situations, and Red Alert would overly fret and worry about every little thing; which was what was needed to keep them all sane in such a chaotic world.

**#02 – Kiss**

The action had been hard to explain to most of the Ark crew, and even amongst the Wreckers, when the topic of kissing came up somehow; but made for a large amount of teasing from the triple changer when he was fed up and decided to just lock up Prowl's processor and send Red Alert into throwing his hands up in irritated defeat.

**#03 – Soft**

Despite the officer status of the two he always clashed with in arguments and stare downs, Springer knew neither the Second in Command or the Security Director were as easy prey as some of the Decepticons wanted to think.

**#04 – Pain**

Ratchet considered all three to be a main cause for any pangs of agitation that seeped into his processors when they would seem perfectly fine right after a battle, until a few earth hours later they were found in forced stasis lock due to hiding injuries when battlefield triage had taken place.

**#05 – Potatoes**

Prowl had to fight the urge to disconnect the transmission when Springer all but collapsed in mirth when Red Alert's voice was clearly heard out in the hall about how 'Yes, Sideswipe, a potato cannon is a banned item, so no he could not ask Wheeljack to make one usable by a Cybertronian.'

**#06 – Rain**

Springer only glared at the smug seeming tactician as Red Alert could be heard muttering over the lines in annoyance as the new arrivals all but trampled one another to escape the rain like it was acid and not water.

**#07 – Chocolate**

Prowl had learned the lesson early on, Red Alert soon after due to sometimes dealing with distress humans on rescue missions with Inferno, but the sight of the candy on desks in both their offices lent to comments and jokes from Springer easily.

**#08 – Happiness**

For such completely rioting egos and personalities, the Wreckers were able to see it better then the Ark team how easily the three seem to banter in good humor under the normal sarcasm.

**#09 – Telephone**

The communication line had been static and white noise with random bouts of disconnection, but it was the last link when they were split and sent off to other ends of the galaxy to search for clues on the Allspark.

**#10 – Ears**

Prowl would never understand the odd need to touch that Springer had when Red Alert's audio horns would gather enough stress related static to glow.

**#11 – Name**

The humans had made a game on figuring out the meaning of their names based on the English translation of it, and Springer was just amused his name was the hardest of the three of them to figure out.

**#12 – Sensual**

"The Twins are creating a rumor about those with their alt modes, and so Red Alert is currently in hiding until others stop asking him about his interfacing abilities Springer."

**#13 – Death**

They figured their order of deactivation would be Springer, Prowl, and then Red Alert with Springer and Prowl switching slots depending on missions; it was a coping mechanism of gallows humor of their reality.

**#14 – Sex**

Many in the rec room had stared at Springer when he had said in a perfectly calm and serious voice he was 'facing both of them, and only the Wreckers and Ratchet knew if he was joking or not.

**#15 - Touch**

They as a species didn't have the same tactile needs of organics, but that didn't mean they didn't find comfort in their fields and scanners mixing when they did meet face to face.

**#16 – Weakness**

Red Alert was the weakest of the three in a tactical analysis when compared to Springer's fighting capabilities and Prowl's analytical mind; but Primus help the fool that thought he was a push over because of this.

**#17 - Tears**

Cybertronians didn't cry, and even if they did those three would have never cried for each other…at least where someone could see.

**#18 – Speed**

Prowl had remained quiet when the twins in their sports car alt modes had driven circles around a sedately moving Springer, and Red Alert hit record on the perimeter camera when Springer reminded the two he was a triple changer.

**#19 – Wind**

The solar wind was the pit when one was trying to aim for an orbital drop and Springer now realized why the two and their units had likened it to controlling a brick with lead wings.

**#20 – Freedom**

The triple changer was the only one who ever really got the two away from the vice like grip that paperwork had on them, even if it meant throwing one or both of them out a window to do so.

**#21 – Life**

Red Alert had nearly damaged his cooling fans with a sudden code error when listening to the drunken speculations of a new spark in the care of Prowl or Springer, or both of them at the same time.

**#22 – Jealousy**

Prowl had only raised an optical ridge when he saw the little question in the margin of a report from Springer asking if he should for some reason be jealous over the fact Prowl and Red Alert were normally in the same units and if he should break cpus next time he came down to earth.

**#23 – Hands**

The human liaison had not been thrilled when Springer had disconnected one of Red Alert's hands and handed it solemnly to the man after he had uttered the phrase "I need a hand…" while Prowl had discretely smacked Springer in the helm.

**#24 – Taste**

All three had blocked the memory file behind thick firewalls because the sight of Shockwave interfacing with anybot was not something to contemplate and Topspin was not allowed to be overcharged and in the company of any special ops mech to avoid further topics from being talked about.

**#25 – Devotion**

"You two have enough of the blind faith in the Prime and this faction, I'll be the one to yank you two back if you get in too deep because of that loyalty."

**#26 - Forever**

Red Alert had been a bit disturbed when his memory files consisting of Prowl and Springer were becoming the largest files in his memory banks, which was the closes thing to having known someone for what seemed like forever in Cybertronian terms.

**#27 – Blood**

Dried energon in joints had become common place even after a solvent soak, that only Red still ever really noticed it when Springer or Prowl moved.

**#28 – Sickness**

There was new respect for Prowl when he devised plan to send the virus Red Alert had caught trying to infiltrate Teletraan back onto the group who had sent it; even if Springer only bitched that they made the mission to easy for him and his team doing so.

**#29 - Melody**

Prowl had almost manage to completely ignore the song Springer was making up in time to the rattle of the rail gun being fired at an almost constant and repetitive beat, until Red Alert from the other side of the Martian canyon whined about Broadside also singing almost the exact same song next to him.

**#30 – Star**

None of them divulged in the past time some of the others had in finding the cluster of stars in the night sky of the sol system that had once been their home galaxy.

**#31 – Home**

"After that last slagging mission recharging on your office floor is almost decadent and if I need a pillow I can just grab Red Alert by the ankle joint when he comes in to give you his report."

**#32 – Confusion**

The battle field was in a complete clusterfuck as the humans would say and Springer thrived in it in ways they could never truly understand.

**#33 – Fear**

Red Alert was always certain that one day he would cycle into recharge and online in a Decepticon holding cell and irreversibly changed, and only kept it from completely making him forgo recharge because for such to happen now a days would involve getting past Springer or Prowl first and they both tended to cycle up from startled recharge fighting.

**#34 - Lightning/Thunder**

Prowl could only watch and twitch in disbelief as the Wreckers ran across the field with Decepticons on their heels, until Red Alert pointed up just as the first bolt of lightening hit the ground and the subsequent 'con that hadn't dodged fast enough; and this just showed how utterly insane the Wreckers and Springer were.

**#35 – Bonds**

Springer had to hand it to the pranksters in the Earth battalion for somehow managing to stasis cuff Red Alert and Prowl together, and he was never going to let them live it down.

**#36 – Market**

Smokescreen was the one to go to for the fun toys, but it was Prowl or Red Alert who Springer used to find the best weapon caches abandoned by either faction.

**#37 – Technology**

Despite being living technology themselves, Prowl had learned early on Springer disdained any equipment that was bordering on complicated, and Red Alert had snarked over the intercom that that was because Springer liked things that just needed a trigger or button on an object to make it or other things go boom.

**#38 – Gift**

Springer had gotten into the custom of gift giving that humans did for random occasions, even though most of his gifts were battle trophies or a video feed of a Decepticon that had been bothering Red Alert or Prowl being knocked aft over head in a battle.

**#39 – Smile**

Red Alert had learned to duck when Prowl would start to gain the very polite 'talking with important humans we need cooperation from' smile if Springer was in the room.

**#40 – Innocence**

There was a normal seeming storage box sitting on Prowl's desk that was absently thrown out the window right before it exploded and the paint pellets that it had contain rained and splattered down on the mechs walking below; while Red Alert just gave a look to the triple changer standing behind him in the security room that told just how used to it they were in regards to innocent objects blowing up even without Wheeljack's help.

**#41 - Completion**

They were an odd combination to many, especially when their interactions with others around them seemed to have more compatible chemistry, and the three would dully note such and go on with their duties (Like any of them were going to say something sappy about them completing and complimenting one another.)

**#42 – Clouds**

The thick and steel grey water vapor had been a perfect cover when he decided to drop down and scare Red Alert for the hell of it, until he had to abort because he remembered Prowl finally made it to where Red Alert only went out this way to fix the perimeter cameras with a partner, and Inferno was trigger happy reflex wise.

**#43 – Sky**

Blue sky, and blue sea as far as optics and scanners could see, Primus help them for energon was going to be shed if they had to stay on the frigate for another week in alt modes.

**#44 - Heaven**

Springer already called out dibs on a certain section of the Pit when he offlined, not one to believe he had a place in the Matrix after everything he had done, and Red Alert or Prowl had never disputed this or their own doubts of being welcomed in the Matrix.

**#45 – Hell**

"So this would be what the humans would call a hell on earth type thing considering you two keep collecting twins like oxidation."

**#46 - Sun**

Red Alert contemplated keeping earth entertainment away from the Wreckers, while Prowl tried to read the mission report and ignore the bit about the grinning sun from the games about a pair of plumbers that had been painted onto the missile used.

**#47 – Moon**

Not even Springer could rationalize the gleam in optics of his crew when a theme in some video games of dropping a moon onto a planet started to make them be creative in their scheming.

**#48 – Waves**

Cybertronians could not get sick, but Prowl took some silent comfort over the form of Springer trying to curl his jeep form in on itself as a sign he wasn't the only one whose tanks were not happy with the ocean trek; and they both probably would knock Red Alert over board the next time he came sliding towards them in the storm for being unbothered by it all.

**#49 – Hair**

When the fluffy plush toys had first been shown to everyone on base Springer just wanted a set of Decepticon ones to tie to rockets and missiles in battle, while Prowl and Red Alert sent him thoughts on other annoying acts he could do if he wanted to piss off Megatron that badly.

**#50 – Supernova**

They had stood and watched the entire broadcast as the sun that had once lit up Cybertron was destroyed and the last little shred of ever going home with it.


	11. 10orders 13

**Title:** Betrayal in Truth  
**Pairing/Characters:** First Aid and Red Alert  
**Prompt:** 13. Don't lie to me (10_orders on lj)  
**Rating:**T/M  
**Warnings:** Unbeta'd, Bayverse setting(Pre first movie, and ignoring any books/comics/games set on Cybertron), Character Death, subject matter that may be viewed as disturbing to some, darkish themes.  
**Summary:** War brings about changes, many of these changes far from good to all involved.

* * *

They had been taking on a large amount of heavy fire. Despite their little group, for being only eight mechs strong and cut off from Central Command they were not a proper unit, being nothing more then survivors or known survivors of their original units. All of them having managed to end up in the 'Dead Zone' together, where anything living had a chance to die by means that were not the cause of the opposing side. First Aid, in hindsight now, saw such as fitting the normal parameters in logical jumps that their former security director was known for, when he was deciding on a new place to observe and counteract against Shockwave. He just wished he hadn't found out this by ending up stranded in the area as well.

Especially as he was barely holding a mech he didn't even know the designation of together, literally, with nothing more then his servos and a few clamps on key seams of the armor. All while trying to keep his helm below the low lip of the small hole within the surface of Cybertron he was using as cover, even as the heat of the various weapons discharging barely two meters above him made his sensors ping and register it. All relay and backup sensors fixated on looking for an enemy while optics and the bulk of his processor remained focused on keeping a spark alive just a little longer. The hope of being able to hand his patients off to a medbay that, though hardly well stocked, would still be enough to make his efforts not be in vain waning with each passing klik and lack of a pause in the chaos around them.

Only to suddenly find himself being yanked away as the spark of his patient guttered out and the brightly painted metal started going cold and grey, and the dubious protection crumbled under a seismic shockwave from some new type of grenade. Fighting back only half as much as he normally would as his processors tried to make sense of the data being flung at it, as the mech he knew was probably not that much bigger or even the same size as him managed to drag him by an arm servo through the wreckage and gun fire at a speed First Aid hadn't thought possible when he was partially dead weight in shock at the time. Only finally able to sort it all out as the din of the fighting became muffled so that his audio units had to strain to still hear it, and the sudden rumble as the rest of his group that was alive seemed to surge around a small grime covered mech that had lead them here.

A fuzzy cpu of giddiness almost making him miss that, despite the optics normally being pale in all of his memory files of the mech, the lack of any color in the optics was far from normal. Making him frown a bit behind his mask as his stabilizers attempted to keep his swaying body upright. The sudden lack of anything to focus on to the exclusion of all else making him finally note his own error and warning messages cluttering a far corner of his left optical range. The lack of energy in his system and his hope filled cpu that everything was going to be okay making him calmly note and prioritize his injuries including the slight deterioration of his spark chamber, not enough for spark contamination, but still worrisome if he did not get it entirely replaced. It could wait because the Dead Zone didn't seem as dead as it had breems ago, as he slid down to sit heavily against a partially crumbled wall and watch as Red Alert with a dented frame and paint so faded Sunstreaker would have personally been offended by it, due to his pride and vanity mixing with his odd loyalty to his fellow frame types, jumping and ordering in that paranoid fashion that Aid had spent the first five vorns of his life knowing as a constant presence. Much like having Ratchet cursing his patients for being idiots was constant and a sign everything was alright.

First Aid wasn't certain when he fell into recharge; just that everything was blissfully silent and fewer error messages were appearing in front of him as his self repair system had taken the time to get some work done. Optics blinking away the major worry of the corroded spark chamber he couldn't do anything about until he could find Ratchet and have the CMO try and 'find' a new one for him. His sensors taking in and accounting for the remaining mechs in his group all in deep recharge as their self repair systems worked, and the familiar click of Red Alert pacing and checking his security systems that he hadn't heard in a long time. A comfort, which even now, his brothers had never really understood, except for Streetwise who had practically been raised in both the security room and the meeting room of the tactical unit. Having had Medbay a short walk down a hallway away from the hub of the entire security network of Iacon had made Red Alert a familiar presence as well for First Aid when he and his brothers had been brought onlined and trained separately and together.

A nagging sub routine however had him suddenly noticing little things that didn't add up and dispelled most of the comfort, as his medical scans moved over the once red and white mech. He was moving carefully like a joint was out of place but he couldn't detect one being so, and energy levels were low in a way that would have been alarming if not for the fact he couldn't find any ill effects of such on the former security director. Even as the now white optics, which somewhat scared the junior medic who kept recalling memory files that showed that though pale they had still been a definite shade of blue, turned towards him in that absentminded acknowledgement that showed Red Alert knew he was awake but was still preoccupied with his security routines.

"You left."

It was a blunt statement and wholly out of character for the quiet medic who would normally let his brothers do the talking. Yet, in his sluggish state it seemed natural to state such, a fact that couldn't be dodged or excused away easily on the sudden disappearance.

"I only said I would do all I can to keep the security of the Autobots from being overthrown by Shockwave."

_I don't lie_ didn't need to be voiced by Red Alert as it was a silent fact anyone who had to share a base with the mech had learned early on. Never saying anything more then what was needed to be said, and always in a blunt and matter of fact way that had Ratchet on more then one occasion shooting a dark glare at the security mech when he had not thought to soften the verbal blow around First Aid and his brothers. Something that had actually been refreshing in a way. Red Alert didn't coddle or hide something because it was gruesome or horrifying, he in his own way had helped the young gestalt survive as long as they had by not letting them be as naïve as Ratchet and everyone else wanted them to be in a war zone.

"Are you coming back and staying this time?"

Those now eerie optics once more trained on his own behind the visor he used to protect them. It made him realize he was more then likely not going to like the answer when he figured out in its entirety.

"I think I am. This time."

First Aid drifted into stasis with a worry in his spark because Red Alert may not lie, but he would sometimes be vague enough that the entire truth wouldn't be realized until it was too late.

When he came back online to the familiar cracked and optic searing orange colored ceiling of the current medbay of the Autobot's main camp he almost didn't recall the last thing said to him by Red Alert; until Ratchet looked him in the optics and he suddenly iknew/i what had happened.

It took three consecutive cycles of silently curled up to one or more of his brothers for it to sink in fully, and an entire Orn before he visited the room where 'donations' were being kept. Staring down at the grey figure he oddly couldn't find himself to feel sadden or even angry at the empty frame of the mech.

After all Red Alert never lied, and he had come back with them. He was never going to leave again and for First Aid he would always be there. As his spark burned within its newly acquired spark casing.


End file.
